Front Royal is the northern gateway to Skyline Drive, a small Virginia town of about fifteen thousand people in the Shenandoah Valley, where the north and south forks of the Shenandoah River meet. The Blue Ridge rises to the east, a long wall of forest that goes violet at dusk, and the main street has a mix of old brick buildings, antique shops, diners and a town green with a gazebo. It is a convenient and friendly place to prepare for the mountains.
Like most of the valley, it saw a lot of fighting during the Civil War. In May 1862, Stonewall Jackson's army struck the Union garrison here in a surprise attack that opened his famous valley campaign, and control of the town changed hands many times afterwards. A small museum recalls the story. The area was also home to Mosby's Rangers, a Confederate guerrilla band that harassed Union supply lines, and the surrounding countryside is known as Mosby's Confederacy.
Skyline Drive begins just outside the town and climbs along the crest of the Blue Ridge for a hundred and five miles through Shenandoah National Park, with the valley on one side and the Piedmont on the other. Built in the 1930s with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps, it has a speed limit of thirty-five miles an hour, and the pace is part of the pleasure. The curves are smooth and easy, the surface is good, and about seventy overlooks give views over the valley, where mist often pools in the mornings. There are very few places to buy fuel on the drive, so fill up in Front Royal before entering.
Black bears are common in the park, and deer wander across the road, particularly at dusk, so keep your speed down. In autumn, the leaves turn from late September to late October, and the Drive can be crowded on weekends. Spring brings wildflowers and a fresh green. Fog can be thick, and the road may close in winter because of ice. Bring a jacket, since the temperature on the ridge can be ten degrees lower than in the valley, and a rain layer is wise, since afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer.